long-term improvement of quality of life in breast cancer patients with quality of life diagnosis and therapy

Conditions: Quality of Life; Breast Cancer; Breast Neoplasms

Summary: the purpose of the study is the long-term implementation of a system with quality of life diagnosis and tailored therapeutic options in order to improve quality of life of patients with breast cancer during follow-up.

the implementation of quality of life (qol) concepts in routine care is still an open matter. a pathway with qol diagnosis and therapeutic options for patients with breast cancer and colorectal cancer has been designed, implemented, and evaluated as guided by the medical research council framework for developing and testing complex interventions. it could be demonstrated that patients with breast cancer and colorectal cancer profited from the diagnosis of qol deficits and tailored therapeutic options in their treatment. the next step is the long-term implementation of the qol pathway into routine care. in a prospective, single-arm study 200 patients with breast cancer are planned to be recruited. qol is measured (eortc qlq-c30, qlq-br23) after surgery (baseline) and during aftercare (3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 months). results of qol measurements are automatically processed via an electronic data processing (edp)-aided system and are directly presented to the coordinating practitioner (physician who cares for the patient during aftercare) and the patient in a qol profile that can be discussed during the current medical appointment. the profile consists of eleven dimensions on scales of 0-100. a cutoff score \<50 points defines a need for qol therapy. specific therapeutic options for the treatment of qol have been identified: psychotherapy, social counseling, pain therapy, physiotherapy, nutrition counseling, and fitness. to provide continuous medical education, quality circles for each therapy option have been founded. coordinating practitioners receive a list with addresses of all quality circle members. the primary endpoint of the study is the proportion of patients with a need for qol therapy 6 months after surgery as well as the evaluation of clinical relevance of the qol pathway by patients and physicians.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * breast cancer * operated in one of two participating certified centers for breast cancer (caritas-krankenhaus st. josef, klinik für frauenheilkunde und geburtshilfe, regensburg; krankenhaus barmherzige brüder, klinik st. hedwig, poliklinik für frauenheilkunde und geburtshilfe, regensburg) * informed consent exclusion criteria: * unavailability of recruiting study clinician * patient misclassified in the operation schedule (no breast neoplasm) * coordinating practitioner refused trial participation * no "nachsorgekalendernummer" available ("nachsorgekalendernummer": unique number of the diary the patient receives in the hospital for aftercare during breast cancer) * patient from district outside the defined study region * age under 18 years * pregnancy * patient unable to fill out the qol questionnaire (physical, psychological, cognitive, language reasons) * patient refused trial participation

Keywords: quality of life breast cancer complex intervention long-term implementation health services research